The Milwaukee Bucks played at the Milwaukee Arena (later the MECCA) from their first game in 1968 until 1988. Ahead of the Bucks’ “Return to the MECCA” game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday, here are some memorable games from that stretch in team history:

Oct. 16, 1968: The Bucks debuted as a franchise with an 89-84 loss to the Chicago Bulls. Guy Rodgers was Milwaukee’s leading scorer with 16 points while Wayne Embry chipped in 15. Jon McGlocklin, beginning his long association with the Bucks, scored eight. The Milwaukee Journal reported a crowd of 8,467 fans witnessed the return of professional basketball to the city after the Hawks left in 1955.

Oct. 18, 1969: Franchise savior Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) showed in his first NBA start that he was the real deal in a 119-100 victory over the Detroit Pistons. ABC even put together a special Saturday afternoon telecast to showcase the hyped rookie. Alcindor delivered with 29 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and three steals. The ever-inscrutable Alcindor said afterward “I didn’t care too much for my play.”

Jan. 10, 1971: The Bucks destroyed the Baltimore Bullets, 151-99, but unlike most blowouts the excitement didn’t peter out. In the fourth quarter, Bullets star Gus Johnson shattered a backboard with a thunderous dunk. The game was delayed 30 minutes as a spare hoop was wheeled onto the floor. The Bucks shot 63 of 109 from the field with Bobby Dandridge (34 points in 32 minutes) and Alcindor (30 in 28) leading the way.

April 21, 1971: The NBA Finals kicked off with the Bucks taking a 98-88 victory over the Bullets. Alcindor had 31 points on 13-of-16 shooting while pulling down 17 rebounds. Oscar Robertson had 22 points and seven assists. Milwaukee went on to a four-game sweep for the Bucks’ sole NBA championship.

Jan. 9, 1972: In probably their greatest regular-season victory, the Bucks snapped the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA-record 33-game winning streak with a 120-104 victory. Abdul-Jabbar (who changed his name in the off-season) dominated Wilt Chamberlain to the tune of 39 points and 20 rebounds. Chamberlain, who famously never fouled out of a game in his career, had only 15 points and played passively after getting into foul trouble. “If it had to end, I’m happy it was ended by a great team,” Lakers coach Bill Sharman said after the game.

Oct. 18, 1977: Few people remember that the Bucks beat the Lakers, 117-112. Most everyone recalls that Abdul-Jabbar, who had been traded to Los Angeles in 1975, punched Kent Benson in the face a few minutes into the season opener. The repercussions were immense. Benson, the No. 1 overall draft pick, suffered a broken jaw and his NBA career never got on track. Abdul-Jabbar broke his hand on the punch and missed two months. He explained that he was tired of being roughed up in the paint. “I have no second thoughts about what I did,” Abdul-Jabbar said back then. “It’s too bad it happened the way it did, but I had to do it.”

Dec. 16, 1977: The Knicks and Bucks played a lot of great games in the 1970s but few were as entertaining as Milwaukee’s 152-150 victory in three overtimes. Marques Johnson and Quinn Buckner each had 27 points. Brian Winters added 24 and hit the Bucks’ last three shots, including a 22-foot leaner that won the game with three seconds left. “I think everyone in the Arena will sleep well tonight,” Bucks head coach Don Nelson said.

May 2, 1983: Arguably the high point of Nelson’s coaching tenure with the team, the Bucks finished off a sweep of the mighty Boston Celtics with a 107-93 win. The Celtics had never lost in four games during a seven-game series. Johnson had 33 points and Sidney Moncrief added 25. “I’m so tickled, I don’t know what to say,” Nelson said.

May 11, 1986: The Bucks exorcised some more playoff demons by beating the Philadelphia 76ers, 113-112, in Game 7 of the second-round series. Four times in the previous five seasons, the 76ers had ousted the Bucks from the playoffs. But this time Julius Erving missed a 14-foot jumper at the buzzer. Terry Cummings led the Bucks with 27 points.

May 6, 1988: The last game in the MECCA for the Bucks was a 105-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 4 of a first-round series. Cummings had 30 points in front of 11,052 fans. But the Bucks lost the decisive Game 5 in Atlanta and the team moved into the Bradley Center the next season.

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A time-lapse video of the installation of the replica floor in the UWM Panther Arena.
Video by Bill Schulz